Law360, New York (March 28, 2005, 12:00 AM EST) -- In a blow to a screenwriter who claimed Sony Pictures stole her script for the movie “Stepmom,” the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in an “en banc” decision that a copyright holder can’t assign or sell the right to sue for copyright to someone else.

On Friday, the appeals court rejected a copyright infringement claim by Nancey Silvers, a writer whose script is owned by Frank & Bob Films and who obtained lawsuit rights from the copyright owner.